Over 300,000 Iranian Jews in Israel Maintain Connection to Iran Amid Current Conflict

For Iranian Jews living in Israel, memories of their homeland remain vivid decades after emigration, even as tensions between Israel and Iran have escalated into open conflict. More than 300,000 Israelis are of Iranian origin, most of whom arrived after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, along with their descendants. For many, the longing for Iran persists in daily life, culture, and community.

Sahar Saidian, a radio host on the Persian-language service of KAN Radio, embodies that dual identity. Broadcasting from Jerusalem, Saidian’s show reaches listeners both in Israel and in Iran. “After 26 years in Israel, I look more Israeli than Iranian, but even though I left Iran, the country is still part of me,” she told AFP. Wearing pins of both the Israeli flag and the pre-1979 Iranian flag, Saidian says she cries when speaking about her native country and struggles with divided loyalties.

Born in Shiraz, the southern Iranian city famous for the poet Hafez, Saidian emigrated to Israel in 1998 at 18. Her weekly radio program, which previously aired alongside shows in Spanish and Russian, now broadcasts daily amid the ongoing Middle East conflict that began on February 28 with attacks by Israel and the United States on Iran. Her programs feature discussions with exiled Iranians and cultural figures like singer Shahin Najafi.

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Saidian and other Iranian Jews in Israel share a deep nostalgia for the life they left behind. Menashe Amir, 86, a pioneer in Iranian Jewish radio programming in Israel, expressed hope for political change in Iran that he believes could benefit both the nation and the world. “My suitcase is packed in my head,” Saidian said, describing her yearning for Iran’s streets, friends, and daily life.

For older generations, preserving Iranian culture in Israel is central. Aaron Yaakobi, 76, who runs Jerusalem’s only Iranian restaurant, serves traditional dishes like gondi and ghormeh sabzi, while displaying photographs of his family in Tehran and a portrait of Iran’s last Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Yaakobi emphasizes that his loyalty remains with Iran’s pre-revolution era, contrasting with the regime that he says oppresses Jews today.

Despite decades in Israel, many Iranian Jews retain a strong desire to reconnect with their homeland. Yaakobi says that since February 28, his dream has been “to buy a ticket to Tehran” to show his children and grandchildren the country where he was born, passing on a cultural heritage shaped by history, cuisine, and music, even as geopolitical tensions continue to separate them from the land of their ancestors.

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